Photo: Marc CramerThe former Palais des Congrès, designed by Victor Prus
(1984), was built on top of a submerged autoroute in an area
between Old Montreal and the modern downtown core.

Isolated from both the built and social environments the
facility no longer satisfied the rising demands linked to its
vocation.

Photo: Marc Cramer
The new design doubles the area of the original facility and,
while filling the void over the autoroute, also connects to the new
Place Riopelle and the bordering streets. Following the urban grid
the expansion interweaves with the existing construction and,
through the integration of historic buildings, draws upon the
vestiges of three centuries of Montréal.

Photo: Marc Cramer
To create a Palais open to the world, its city, and its people,
the architectural concept focuses on the aspects of light and
transparency with the use of three times more glassed surface area.
As a result, at any given time, the Palais and its city appear as
an integrated whole.

Photo: Marc Cramer

The colorful glass facade shows off Montreal's
"Latin" joie de vivre and reputation for festivals and fun./Mario Saia, Lead design Architect

Photo: Marc CramerPhoto: Marc Cramer
A new public promenade links the expanded Viger Hall with that of
the formal Bleury Hall. The L-shaped passage, lined with a
polychromatic glass skin to the north and west, provides access to
the grand escalators. Transversal passages, faithful to the
existing lines of Jeanne Mance and Anderson streets, facilitate
orientation.

Photo: Marc CramerPhoto: Marc Cramer
The facades relate to the surrounding areas. On the downtown and
Cité Internationale side the desired transparency is articulated
through the immense facade whose colored glass panels create an
interplay of light and colour, producing an iridescent effect both
inside and outside the building. During the day, it is the array of
colors that predominates, while the dark of night brings out its
transparency.

Photo: Marc Cramer
A luminous marquee runs the length of the facade that forms the
defining edge of the Place Jean-Paul Riopelle. The marquee protects
the decentralized entrance and, at the same time, creates an
intermediate zone between the building and the exterior that
encourages neighborly relations.Photo: Marc CramerPhoto: Marc Cramer
On the historic and introverted Old Montreal side the building
responds to the smaller scale stone buildings by the use of
limestone, laid in bands, as a common denominator. Translucent
glass permits the internal services to capture daylight without
being exposed.

The Palais today, previously isolated in the city, has become a
beacon and center of attraction.Drawing courtesy Société du Palais des
Congrès